Generalized quadrangles of order \((s,s^ 2)\). I (Q1331130)

A finite generalized quadrangle of order \((s,t)\) is a finite incidence structure consisting of points and lines such that i) two distinct points are incident with at most one line, ii) each point is incident with \(t + 1\) lines \((t \geq 1)\), iii) each line is incident with \(s + 1\) points \((s \geq 1)\), and iv) if \((x,L)\) is a nonincident point-line pair, then there is a unique incident point-line pair \((y,M)\) such that \(x\) is incident with \(M\) and \(y\) is incident with \(L\). We say two points \(x\) and \(y\) (not necessarily distinct) are collinear, written \(x \sim y\), if there is some line incident with \(x\) and \(y\). If \(x\) is any point, we let \(x^ \perp\) denote the set of all points collinear with \(x\) (including \(x\) itself). If \(A\) is any subset of points, we let \(A^ \perp = \bigcap \{ x^ \perp : x \in A\}\). A triad of points is a triple of pairwise noncollinear points. If \(t = s^ 2 > 1\), it can be shown that \(| \{x, y, z\}^ \perp \mid = s + 1\) for any triad \(\{x, y, z\}\), and thus \(| \{x, y, z\}^{\perp \perp} | \leq s + 1\). Restricting to the case \(t = s^ 2 > 1\), a triad \(\{x, y, z\}\) is called 3-regular if \(| \{x, y, z\}^{\perp \perp}| = s + 1\), and a point \(x\) is called 3-regular if each triad containing \(x\) is 3-regular. If \(x_ 1\), and \(y_ 1\) are distinct collinear points, we say that the generalized quadrangle has property \((G)\) at \(\{x_ 1, y_ 1\}\) if every triad \(\{x_ 1, x_ 2, x_ 3\}\) with \(y_ 1 \in \{x_ 1, x_ 2, x_ 3\}^ \perp\) is 3-regular. One similarly defines what it means to have property \((G)\) at a line \(L\) or at a flag \((x_ 1, L)\). It should be noted that property \((G)\) was introduced by \textit{S. Payne} in Geom. Dedicata 32, No. 1, 93-118 (1989; Zbl 0706.51006). A flock \(\mathcal F\) of a quadratic cone \(K\) with vertex \(P\) in \(PG(3,q)\) is a partition of \(K \setminus \{P\}\) into \(q\) (disjoint) irreducible conics. It is now well known that a generalized quadrangle \(L({\mathcal F})\) of order \((q^ 2, q)\) is associated with each such flock [see \textit{W. M. Kantor}, Math. Z. 192, 45-50 (1986; Zbl 0592.51003) or the author, Eur. J. Comb. 8, 441-452 (1987; Zbl 0646.51019)]. In fact, Payne (reference above) has shown that \({\mathcal L}({\mathcal F})\) satisfies property \((G)\) at its point \((\infty)\). Moreover, \({\mathcal L}({\mathcal F})\) admits a group of collineations fixing the point \((\infty)\) linewise which acts regularly on the points not collinear with \((\infty)\). In the comprehensive paper under review the author studies in detail translation generalized quadrangles of order \((s,s^ 2)\), \(s \neq 1\), with base point \((\infty)\) which have property \((G)\) either at some flag \(((\infty),L)\) or at some line \(L\) incident with \((\infty)\). As a byproduct of this work, several classes of ovoids of \(Q(4,s)\), \(s\) odd, are obtained; one of these classes is new. By \(Q(4,s)\) we mean the classical generalized quadrangle arising from the nonsingular quadric of \(PG(4,s)\), and an ovoid of \(Q(4,s)\), \(s\) odd, is a set of \(s^ 2 + 1\) points with no two being collinear. The author states as a goal for some subsequent paper the classification of all translation generalized quadrangles of order \((s,s^ 2)\), \(s > 1\), satisfying property \((G)\) at some flag \(((\infty),L)\).